Page 288 of Modern Romance January 2025 5-8

‘Think, Charlotte,’ she told herself. ‘Now’s not the time for tears. You can do this.’

She couldn’t fall apart. Now was the time to think clearly. A new life waited on the other side of this ordeal. She just had to get there.

Throat burning from unshed tears, she swallowed hard and fetched a suitcase from her closet. She grabbed the clothes hanging up, not bothering to fold them before she dumped them in her bag. She hated the look of them now. Greys and beiges. She longed for the clothes she had worn in Italy, the closet full of holiday wear Enzo had given her. All of that lay forgotten in a bag at the office, and Charlotte wondered how long it would be before someone noticed them or Enzo threw them out. It was just as well. They were far too flashy. When she was trying to get by unnoticed, they would not help in the least.

Where would she go?

Melbourne? Adelaide? Some small town where no one would think of looking for her?

She was wasting time trying to think of it now. She would decide when she got to the airport. Anywhere would do, as long as it was away from here.

She called a cab and took one last look around the place she had called home for two years. A place that she had rented on a month-to-month basis just in case she had to run again.

‘Will you crawl back into the dark?’

The words had sliced through her when Enzo had said them, but he was right. That was exactly what she was going to do. The moment she left Sydney, Celeste Park would be behind her, and she would find a new identity.

The cab was waiting for her by the time she had made it to the ground floor. She didn’t even bother placing her suitcase in the boot. It was small enough to fit on the back seat with her.

Her heart was desiccating in her chest. She wanted to run back to Enzo and tell him to forget everything she’d said, that she would be happy to have a purely physical relationship with him, that she would love him even if he couldn’t love her back. But she couldn’t do it. She’d meant it when she’d said she deserved more. She wanted more from life than having powerful men try to control and possess her.

Charlotte put on her dark sunglasses, ensuring the driver knew she had no interest in conversation, and looked out of the window at the M1. All the people going about their lives. What would it be like to be one of them, to never have to look over her shoulder? To fall in love with someone she chose and be with them? What had she done to deserve this life?

‘Ma’am, we’ve arrived,’ the driver said.

‘Oh. Thank you.’ She climbed out of the car as quickly as she could, trying not to lose her balance as her suitcase caught in the tactile paving in her hurry to get inside. Unfortunately, she hadn’t made it two steps before her phone rang. Without thinking, she answered just as she always did. The only person to regularly call her was the same person who had her shattered heart.

‘E—’

‘Hello, daughter.’

Every muscle in Charlotte’s body seized. Every joint locked. Her stomach fell. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t move. Adrenaline flooded her system and her tongue turned to lead.

‘It’s been a while.’

Still she was silent. Tears welled in her eyes for a different reason now.

‘Come, now. The least you can do is greet your father.’

Charlotte swallowed hard. ‘You’ve got the wrong number.’ Her voice was barely a breath.

‘Nice try, Charlotte. I must say, you did a rather good job of hiding these last two years.’

Screwing up all her courage, Charlotte tried desperately to keep her fear from her voice. ‘What do you want?’

‘You know exactly what I want.’

‘No.’ Charlotte was choosing herself. No matter what it took. She had left Perth, and now would leave Sydney no matter how much it hurt to do so.

She was just about to end the call when her father said, ‘Youwillbe coming home, Charlotte. Don’t be difficult.’

Charlotte hung up on him, on the man that scared her beyond all others purely because he knew exactly what Grant Campbell was like, knew exactly what kind of life awaited his daughter as Campbell’s wife, and still traded her for a business deal.

She was so close to leaving it all behind.

Shoving the phone in her handbag, Charlotte grabbed the suitcase and stepped towards the door, but a large hand grabbed her arm tightly, yanking her back. She turned to see who had seized her, and it took her a moment to compute.

A man held the back door to a dark sedan open. Another clutched her arm in a bruising grip. She paled. Gordon Kim was looking down on her with a sneering smile.